Note-taking apps have become serious productivity tools, and the licensing models behind Notion, Evernote, and Obsidian reflect very different philosophies about what software ownership means. Choosing the wrong one is not just a usability issue — it affects where your data lives, what happens if you stop paying, and how much flexibility you have as your needs change.
Notion: Team-First Pricing, Individual-Friendly Free Tier
Notion's licensing is subscription-based. The free plan is genuinely useful for individuals — you get unlimited pages and blocks for personal use with limited sharing capabilities. The Plus plan at $10 per month (billed annually at $8 per month) removes most personal usage limitations and adds version history and unlimited file uploads.
For students, Notion offers a free Plus plan through its Education program, which is accessible via a verified educational email address. This is one of the better software education deals available, making Notion's full individual tier free for students and educators.
The data ownership question with Notion is worth understanding. Your notes live in Notion's cloud database, not in files on your device. You can export to Markdown, HTML, or PDF, but the export process is manual and the resulting files lack some of the interlinked structure that makes Notion useful. If Notion shuts down or you cancel your subscription, you need to export your data while you still have access. This is not unique to Notion, but it is more significant here than with tools that use local files.
Evernote: A Cautionary Tale and Current State
Evernote was once the dominant note-taking app. Bending India acquired it in 2022, and since then it has gone through significant product changes and pricing adjustments that left many long-term users dissatisfied. The current free plan is quite limited — two devices and a monthly upload limit of 60 MB, which feels restrictive by modern standards.
The Personal plan runs $14.99 per month (or around $10.83 per month billed annually). The Professional plan at $17.99 per month adds AI features and additional integration capabilities. These prices are higher than comparable competitors, which has driven many users to migrate.
Evernote's note format (.enex) is proprietary, though several other apps (Notion, Bear, Obsidian with plugins) can import it. If you have years of notes in Evernote and are considering migration, tools for exporting and converting your library are well-developed at this point. The switching cost exists but is manageable.
The lesson from Evernote's trajectory is relevant to any cloud note-taking service: the value of your notes is only as durable as the service that hosts them. License Day has covered this dimension of software licensing in other contexts — understanding that you are licensing access to your own data, not just to features, is important for long-term planning.
Obsidian: Local Files, Optional Sync Subscription
Obsidian takes an entirely different approach. The core application is free for personal use and stores all notes as plain Markdown files on your local device. You own those files completely. If Obsidian ceased to exist tomorrow, your notes would remain perfectly readable in any text editor. This data permanence is a significant differentiator for users who have been burned by service shutdowns or pricing changes.
The commercial license for Obsidian is $50 per user as a one-time purchase, required for use in commercial contexts (work where you are paid). For personal, educational, and charitable use, Obsidian remains free indefinitely.
Obsidian Sync, the optional cloud sync service, runs $10 per month or $96 per year and syncs your Markdown vault across devices with end-to-end encryption. This is entirely optional — many users sync via iCloud, Dropbox, or a self-hosted solution at no additional cost. Obsidian Publish, for turning vaults into websites, is $20 per month.
The trade-off with Obsidian is that it requires more setup than Notion or Evernote. Building a useful linked notes system, setting up sync, and choosing plugins all involve configuration that some users find empowering and others find tedious. It rewards users who want deep control and penalizes those who want a polished out-of-the-box experience.
FAQ
Can I use Obsidian free for freelance work?
Obsidian's free license covers personal use. Freelance work where you are paid falls under the commercial use definition, which requires the $50 one-time commercial license. The license covers one user on unlimited devices.
Is Evernote worth it at its current pricing?
For new users, Notion or Obsidian offer better value in 2025-2026. For existing Evernote users with large established libraries, the migration cost versus subscription cost comparison depends on how much content you have and how deeply embedded Evernote's specific features are in your workflow.
Does Notion work offline?
Notion has limited offline functionality on mobile (recently improved) and requires internet access for most operations on desktop. It is not designed as an offline-first tool. Obsidian is fully offline by default; Evernote has offline notebook functionality in paid tiers.
Conclusion
Notion suits users who want a polished, collaborative, cloud-first workspace and are comfortable with cloud data storage. Obsidian suits users who prioritize data ownership, privacy, and local file control. Evernote is a legacy option that remains viable for committed existing users but is hard to recommend for new adopters at current pricing. The licensing model you choose is ultimately a statement about where you trust your notes to live long-term.
